Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright holder... is an infringer of the copyright or right of the owner. - USC Title 17 Chapter 5 Sec. 501

Infringement of copyright occurs when any of the exclusive rights of the copyright holder is exploited by someone else, beyond what is allowed under the principles of fair use.

To establish a claim of copyright infringement in court, the party claiming that their copyright has been infringed must prove:

1. Ownership of a valid copyright. This requires that the work being  infringed be registered with the copyright office.
2. Copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.

The costs of litigation and attorney fees usually limit the likelihood of action against infringers who occasionally use small amounts of an individual’s or small business’s copyrighted material.

However, such costs may not impede infringement suits for copyright owners with deeper pockets.  A December 31, 2001 Associated Press article detailed the experience of the owner of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan website, who removed her material after 20th Century Fox corporate lawyers complained about copyright violation.

 Additional Information

• Infringement Remedies (or penalties, from the perspective of the defendent)